Butler (Atlantic 10 at-large): Coach Brad Stevens was going to take a job as a server at Applebee's in 2000 to make extra money before one of then-head coach Thad Matta's assistants was arrested. Stevens was hired as director of basketball operations. Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports

Ohio State (automatic bid as Big Ten tournament champion): In 2011, guard Aaron Craft tried his hand at karaoke, singing Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" hit along with former teammates Jon Diebler and Jared Sullinger. His high-pitched crooning earned him no Grammy nominations, to say the least. David Banks, USA TODAY Sports

Iona (automatic bid as Metro Atlantic tournament champion): Lamont Jones, the nation's third-leading scorer, earned the nickname "Momo" as a child from his family because he always had his motor running. Mark L. Baer, USA TODAY Sports

Miami (automatic bid as ACC tournament champion): Reggie Johnson's dream is to meet Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Johnson used to re-enact The Rock's walkout to "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?" and would wrestle his teddy bear. The Rock played football at Miami. Streeter Lecka, Getty Images

Harvard (automatic bid as Ivy League regular-season champion): In practices leading up to last season's NCAA tournament game against Vanderbilt, Harvard player Wesley Saunders was mocked for misspelling "pulchritudinous" during a game of Hangman. Elise Amendola, AP

Florida Gulf Coast (automatic bid as Atlantic Sun tournament champion): Head coach Andy Enfield is married to former supermodel Amanda Marcum, who has appeared on the cover of "Elle", "Vogue" and "Maxim." J.D. Mercer, USA TODAY Sports

Northwestern State (automatic bid as Southland tournament champion): Senior forward Gary "Chucky" Roberson was given his nickname by his grandmother, who thought he was pudgy as a baby but didn't want to call him "chunky." Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

Saint Louis (automatic bid as Atlantic 10 tournament champion): The Billikens watched the selection show in a Secaucus, N.J., Best Buy after they got stuck in traffic leaving the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Seth Wenig, AP

Wichita State (Missouri Valley at-large): Freshmen Fred Van Vleet and Derail Green visited coach Gregg Marshall's house this summer just to go swimming, much to the delight of the coach's wife Lynn, who makes soup for the players when they're sick. Paul Halfacre, USA TODAY Sports

Creighton (automatic bid as Missouri Valley tournament champion): During the 2010 news conference announcing his hiring, coach Greg McDermott was introduced as "Doug McDermott." At the time, Doug McDermott, the coach's son, was an 18-year-old high school senior. He now plays for his father. Paul Halfacre, USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh (Big East at-large): Freshman center Steven Adams is one of 18 brothers and sisters. A native of New Zealand, he can be found playing the guitar or ukulele on road trips. Debby Wong, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville (automatic bid as Big East tournament champion): After defeating Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, the Cardinals celebrated with former president Bill Clinton, who even posed for some "selfies" with the team. Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports

Montana (automatic bid as Big Sky tournament champion): Coach Wayne Tinkle's daughters play basketball for Stanford and Gonzaga. When the two played in November, Tinkle and family wore custom shirts that read "Gonzford" and "Stanzaga". Michael Albans, AP

James Madison (automatic bid as CAA tournament champion): If senior guard A.J. Davis could go anywhere in the world it would be Istria, Croatia. Apparently this is the place he "dreamed of going as a kid." Peter Casey, USA TODAY Sports

Boise State (Mountain West at-large): After getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, junior guard Jeff Elorriaga said that he was too busy tackling people to look at who the Broncos would be playing. Darin Oswaldm, AP

Georgetown (Big East at-large): In a video titled, "Spelling Bee with Markell Starks," the junior guard is asked to spell out the last name of former Georgetown forward Amadou Kilkenny-Diaw. Starks' attempt: K-I-L-H-E-N-N-Y S-H-U-A-W. Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

Saint Mary's (West Coast Conference at-large): Coach Randy Bennett received an iPad from the college's IT department, but has spurned the technology in favor of pen and paper. He has dubbed his staff "the yellow padders" because of their liberal use of yellow notepads to take notes, etc. Kelley L. Cox, USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse (Big East at-large): After a 61-39 blowout loss at Georgetown on March 9, coach Jim Boeheim announced, "I'm pretty much ready to go play golf somewhere." Few know that in the early 1970s, Boeheim was the golf coach at Syracuse. Al Bello, Getty Images

Liberty (automatic bid as Big South tournament champion): Liberty asks questions on their recruiting questionnaire such as, "What movie or TV shoe (shoe?) made you shed a tear?" and "If you had a choice who would you rather date than your girlfriend?" Curtis Wilson, USA TODAY Sports

South Dakota State (automatic bid as Summit League tournament champion): South Dakota State University is actually older than the state of South Dakota, predating statehood by eight years. Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports

Akron (automatic bid as Mid-Ameican tournament champion): In his time on the Akron baseball diamond, coach Keith Dambrot set a then-school record by being hit by a pitch 28 times. Eric P. Mull, USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina A&T (automatic bid as Mid-Eastern Athletic tournament champion): Forward Dominique Behohn-Tolly said that the best thing about the school is that the library is open 24/7. Peter Casey, USA TODAY Sports

Valparaiso (automatic bid as Horizon League tournament champion): The Crusaders are the elder statesmen of the big dance. According to KenPom.com, Valparaiso, whose top nine players are seniors or juniors, is the most experienced team in college basketball. Coach Bryce Drew, 38, is one of the youngest coaches in the tournament. Joe Raymond, AP

Colorado State (Mountain West at-large): Despite being mocked by the Wyoming crowd March 6 for his past struggles with alcoholism, Rams coach Larry Eustachy had this to say about his team's 78-56 win: "My greatest pleasure in life besides being with my wife is going to somebody's home court and kicking their fanny." Jeff Bottari, Getty Images

Oregon (automatic bid as Pac-12 tournament champion): Upon entering the locker room following a win at UCLA, coach Dana Altman found himself being jumped around … and on top of. According to junior Jonathan Loyd, "he was getting kind of pinballed." Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State (Big Ten at-large): In 2008, Tom Izzo took the stage for a little Q&A with legendary Will Ferrell character Ron Burgundy from the 2004 film "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Ferrell asked Izzo, "Technically, are you a dwarf? Because you do have a large head. I tell people you're not." Mike Carter, USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin (Big Ten at-large): Over the past three years, guard Ben Brust has become a diehard NASCAR fan. He has connected with drivers such as Kevin Harvick via social media and has sat in the pits for major races. Dennis Wierzbicki, USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State (Big 12 at-large): Freshman duo Marcus Smart and Phil Forte got in a fight in an elevator at an AAU tournament when they were in the fourth grade. Now they are best friends, as Smart refers to his teammate as "a feisty little fellow." Jamie Squire, Getty Images

Notre Dame (Big East at-large): Senior forward Jack Cooley (6-9, 244 pounds) is not only built like former Irish player Luke Harangody (6-8, 246 pounds), but the two have been called "clones." Chris Chambers, Getty Images